El frowns. “I’m pretty sure it is.”
“Nope.Tucker and Dale vs Evil.”
We both look at her, and Nat sheepishly points to me.
“No way,” El laughs, “I thought you were all about theHungry Eyes! You love dance movies…”
“Well, DD is my second favourite movie,” Nat says, leaning back against the new and plumped up pillows. She’s still a little pale and tired, but her smile lights up her face. “I’m very happy to watch it.”
“That’s cool, we can watchTucker and Dalefirst,” El replies, picking up the remote and flicking through streaming services until she finds it. When her mum pats to the left of her, she stretches out by her and settles her head on Nat’s shoulder.Fortunately, El has never claimed to be too old for affection, and indeed welcomes it.
Nat turns to me and nods to her right. “Settle in, if you like,” she tells me, and I don’t need asking twice. Looping my arm around both my girls together, I grab a cookie with my other hand and relax.
I’m not altogether surprised when Nat’s head lolls into the crook of my shoulder around the time of the chainsaw bee attack scene. She’s fast asleep, sighing softly, her cheek warm through my shirt.
Eleanor slowly, slowly eases away, beaming at me the entire time. “I’ve got some homework to do,” she whispers, “so I’ll leave you two alone…” She really is all in on matchmaking between me and her mother, and I hope this goes the way she wants it to. Not just for my sake, but for hers. I don’t want her to feel disappointed if Nat’s moved on.
Her pupils dilated when you called her a good girl, though.I feel better when I remember that. There’s stillsomethingthere on her side. And, I think, putting my arms around her and stroking her hair slowly, I can wait. I can wait here while she dozes on me so she stays comfortable, and I can wait for her to come around to the idea of us no longer smothering our feelings for each other.
I’ve waited literally half my life for this chance. A few more days, weeks, months, or however long she needs won’t kill me.
She may be the one sleeping, but I’m the one in a dream.
The two hours Nat spends in my arms feel so right. Like I never should have stopped holding her this way. Surely she can feel it, too, given how peacefully she’s napping. I’m almost sorry when she stirs, until I get to look at the beautiful warm colour of her irises again. “Mmmph, sorry,” she purrs, still coming back to consciousness, and it sounds so sexy that I’m twitching in my boxers again. I didn’t consider that my dick might be an issue when she moved in, that it would start stiffening on a hair trigger, and maybe I should have. “How long was I out?”
“Couple of hours,” I whisper, holding her a little closer. “You can go back to sleep if you want.”I could never get tired of this.
“Mmm-mmm,” she declines, “there’s something I want more than more sleep.”
“Which is?”
She smiles at my shoulder. “Properly clean hair. Showering was such a mission in hospital, and the hair wash caps they give you when you can’t get out of bed…they don’t cut it.” Looking around the room, she starts to sit up. “Where’s Eleanor?”
“Doing her homework. And she’ll be getting picked up for football practice in a few.”
“Damnit.” Nat sighs. “I forgot about practice. I’m so out of the loop.”
Lightbulb moment. “I can wash your hair for you?”Please say yes, please say yes…
She lifts an eyebrow. “Ah, don’t worry about it, I’ll wait until El’s home.”
“Come on.” I raise an eyebrow right back at her. “I can do it. It’s no big deal.” Except it absolutelywouldbe a big deal for me, and I have to stifle a low moan at the idea of running my fingers through her hair over and over, feeling the wet silkiness and lathering it up with her go-to shampoo brand, which I’ve bought specially for her stay.
“Um…over the sink, right? Or the bathtub? Not in the, er, sh-shower…together, I mean…” It’s so adorable the way she trails off and avoids my gaze when she realises how awkward and ridiculous she sounds right now.
“I have a shower head attachment for the bath. I’ll put you on a beanbag and you can lean back.” Holding my hands up, I add, “No funny business, no water fights, just clean hair the way you’re craving.”Time to bring out the big guns. “Just imagine how good it will feel to have areallythorough hairwash…squeaky clean strands…”
Nat giggles and lets out a comic swoon noise. “OK, OK, you convinced me.”
Fuck yes.It takes a lot of willpower not to cheer out loud, but I limit myself to a nod. “OK. I’ll get things set up.”
There are two huge advantages to her leaning backwards to the bath while I do this.
Number one, I don’t soak her with the shower head through poor aim when wetting and rinsing.
Number two, I get to watch her face and see how much she’s enjoying my touch as I lather up and massage her scalp. She’s biting the two corners of her lower lip, and I bet her toes are curling in her casts. Though silent, her breathing is a little erratic, held one moment and quickened the next.
As for me, I haven’t been this turned on in ages, to the point that it feels like I’ve uncovered an unexpected kink. Hair washing. Who knew it could be so hot? But here I am with a rod as hard as steel, and I’ve bitten down on more groans than I do when I think of Nat while I shower.Fuck. Now I’m thinking about showeringwithher, watching the soap suds slide down her skin, droplets of water collecting on her nipples one at a time for me to catch with my tongue…
